Suggested Response to “Advice on Critiquing a Draft”

Responses will vary. There are many good sites on the subject of peer editing, such as the University of Richmond Writing Center’s Peer Editing Guide and ReadWriteThink’s Peer Editing Guide.

Suggested Response to “Interviewing a Co-author of an Article”

This project provides a good opportunity for students to learn collaborative techniques in their major fields of study. Although responses will vary, successful responses will compare and contrast findings from the interview with concepts discussed in the chapter. Many students would appreciate some tips on interviewing (see Chapter 5) before beginning this project.

Suggested Response to “Interviewing a Project Collaborator”

This project provides a good opportunity for students to learn about collaborative techniques in technical communication. Students might need help identifying technical communicators in their community. The local chapter of the Society for Technical Communication would be a good place to start. Although responses to this project will vary, successful responses will compare and contrast findings from the interview with concepts discussed in the chapter. You may want to discuss guidelines for interviewing (see Chapter 5) before assigning this project.

Suggested Response to “Monitoring Your Listening Skills”

Responses will vary. Depending on the demographics of the group, this project can be a good opportunity for students to explore the effects of gender and culture on communication and listening behaviors.

Suggested Response to “Monitoring Your Collaboration Skills”

Responses will vary. This project provides an opportunity for students to reflect on their group work and on how planning, work styles, and conflict-resolution styles affect the final product. Successful responses will suggest that students carefully recorded their observations and activities throughout the project.

Suggested Response to “Improving Your Meeting Skills”

One of the concepts emphasized in Creighton’s article and stressed in Chapter 3 of the text is the importance of planning. Other important techniques, processes, or guidelines for conducting efficient meetings include these:

Many students have participated in enough meetings to dread them, but few have taken an active role in making sure a meeting is a success. The Creighton article and the text provide specific strategies for conducting efficient meetings. When they use these strategies, students often report that the second meeting had more participation from group members because an agenda let them know how to prepare and meeting minutes helped them know what every member was supposed to do before the next meeting.

Suggested Response to “Learning To Collaborate”

Students may discuss the degree to which group members did the following:

Some students will comment on the unequal workload carried by some group members and the apathy of other group members. Some might comment on their lack of authority to enforce group decisions, on the difficulty of coordinating schedules for face-to-face meetings, and on the difficulty in general of communicating with team members. Successful responses will go beyond a mere catalog of problems and issues and identify specific steps students can take to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their own participation in the collaboration and in the overall functioning of the group.